Final Stretch Alert: Last Wave U-Pick Apples & Sprouts; Cider & Donuts; No Mo’ Pumpkins; Final Day of Full Farm Action = Oct 30!

– FRESH CROP ALERT –

U-Picking

Mutsu, Ashmeads, Newtown Pippin, Winecrisp apples • Brussels Sprouts

Shopping

Fresh donuts Thu-Sun 11:00 to 5:00 • Hot Cider • Cold Cider • Apples • Pears • Winter Squash • Garlic • Slushies • Coffee • Mugs • Honey • Beeswax • Syrup • Pottery

Business

See current hours on home page
See map & tips & safety in 2022 Farm Guide
Drive extra carefully on highway & farm
Thank you for being kind & nice

– FULL STORY –

DEAR FARMKETEERS: A venerable economist once asked, “Is it demand or supply causing the problem?” Well, on a small fruit farm, you might as well ask, Is it the chicken or the big orange egg? You could even just ask the chicken herself. You’ll get about as good an answer.

HERE THE ECONOMIST POSES (RIGHT) WITH A SCRATCHED OUT PUMPKIN FOR A HEAD. As if to say, maybe my brainy economic theories are the problem! Any way you model it, The ‘Creek is out of pumpkins. On the bright side, you gave loving homes to more pumpkins than ever. Thank you! And the good news: You can still pick your own apples and sprouts, and get fresh cider and donuts at the stand! Sunday, October 30, will be the last day of full farm business. We might keep a self-serve kiosk open into November, but no telling how many apples or sprouts will be available for picking. Come soon!

U-PICK MUTSU APPLES! Next best thing to a pumpkin – apples almost as big. Dad planted the Mutsu orchard back in ’84. We could rhapsodize about the Mutsu, also known as Crispin, for days. The British call them “oven busters” since a couple of old orchard ladies could pick one giant Mutsu and bake it in the oven and split it as dessert for their afternoon stitch-n-bitch. But – as we have opined before – boys can do that, too. Ovens and stitching and b*tching aren’t just for girls. Same with dessert. And feelings. And sharing. All welcome at The ‘Creek. Come as you are. But come soon!

U-PICK WINECRISP APPLES. Winecrisp has an exotic beauty that sets it apart from glossy commercial offerings. Its deep red-purple color stands out in the orchard on a pale fall day, and it looks almost black from a distance. The skin is rough, with a matte finish that has a pleasing parchment-like feel in the hands, and the flesh is very hard, but crisp and breaking. It has a full, rich flavor with tangy notes of citrus and spice. Winecrisp feels solid, like it might last forever, and the fact of the matter is that it will hold up in regular cold storage for at least six months!

U-PICK ASHMEAD’S KERNEL APPLES. Biting into an Ashmead’s reveals a dense, nutty flesh bursting with honeyed zing. The flavor is intense and complex, high in both sugar and acid. Ashmead’s mellows with age, and an October harvest is well stored for eating around Christmas, when notes of pear, spice, and orange blossom will emerge! This extraordinary and versatile apple has recently enjoyed renewed popularity among apple aficionados and is one of our best sellers.

FRESH CIDER! At the farmstand you can get jugs of “Orchard Ambrosia” – that’s 100% unsweetened, unpasteurized juice of apples and sometimes a few pears. Nothing added. It’s like the old days. Bolster your locavore credentials by getting jugs each week – the flavor profile evolves as new varieties enter the apple harvest. Freezes great, just pour a little off the top before freezing to keep it from going boom.

FRESH DONUTS! Served Thursday through Sunday 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. With ever more vim and verve and vigor as fall marches on, the Mark 2 Donut Robot churns out fresh fried toroids of fructotic splendor – sprinkled, if you like, with cinnamon sugar. “A SPRINKLE OF SIN, SUGAR,” is all you have to say. No donuts served on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, when the Mark 2 Donut Robot observes its lavish Cyborg Sabbath. Amen and hallelujah.

U-PICK BRUSSELS SPROUTS = OPEN! These massively nutritious spheroids of cruciferous craving are your ticket to a happy moment of plant appreciation. We call them BROUTS for short because they are just so darn broutish! Cut a fresh stalk in the field, pop off the sprouts in the kitchen, chop in half, stir fry with bacon or fakin’. ALERT: Cut the whole stalk; don’t pick individual sprouts since that wrecks the plant. Do not be a plant wrecker. Be a sprout lover! Be a brout!

HEFTY SQUASH HAUL! You can shop at the farm stand for Butternut, Blue Hubbard, Carnival, and Delicata! A great crop this year and we picked them for you!

BUS STOP = INDIAN CREEK! You can take your public transportation right to your u-pick destination. TCAT has moved the bus stop to directly in front of the farm, so anyone can take the #21 from town to our doorstep. You want to avoid using the #14, which ends at the hospital requiring a walk on the highway. Be safe!

THIS YEAR’S CROP YIELD HAS BEEN FABULOUS! BUT! GO SLOWLY ON YOUR U-PICK ADVENTURE! We have witnessed several terrible, high-speed collisions on Route 96 by the farm in recent years. Approach the farm carefully, exit the farm carefully, and drive SLOWwwwwly when you are on the farm! Here is a free driver’s education reminder.

A Drivers Education
REMINDER

Entering from Ithaca

Indian Creek Farm is 1/2 mile north of the Cayuga Medical Center traffic light. We are on the left, just after the Dubois Road intersection, as you come over the rise. The farm entrance comes up quickly. There is no need to increase speed to 55 MPH. Stay slow to keep the cars behind you slow. Use your TURN SIGNAL well before the turn. We have watched people stop to turn into the farm without using their signal.

While on Farm

Please drive slowly. There is no hurry. You are on vacation while on the farm. There are kids and folks of all ages walking around the farm. Take it easy.

Exiting

Do not pull out if you can even see a car coming. Assume the car is speeding and that you will get hit.

Be patient, an opening will come.